Since no one replied to my responce in the other rod building thread I'm going to repost it in a new topic. I am thinking of purchasing one of the kits from Cabelas but I want the best I can get for around $100 (give or take a little) from Cabelas. I have about $70 saved up on my Cabelas card but I don't want to really put more then $50 more dollars into this if I can help it. I want to get a 9' 6 weight for big nymphs and some streamers. I thought about the Fenwick HMG. This will be my first rod to build also. What blank should I get?

A Loomis GL3 kit would fit your price range nicely. My first build was a 7 and 1/2 foot 4-weight GL3, and I really like the rod and use it often. I don't know what action you prefer, but this rod is medium fast. If you're looking for something faster or slower, check out the Cabelas house rods. It is always advisable to try them out before your purchase, if possible.

I built a gl3 blank into a similar rod. I use for big biggers in the float tube. I think it would be perfect. I bought mine as a blem but i'll be darned if I can find anything wrong with it. If you are thinking yu may have to cast this a distance, you might go with single foot giuides. If not...what ever the kit comes with would be fine.

If you're looking to do this before then...I'd still say, for the money its a good blank to build on.

Ok the price range of the GL3 is at the upper end of my price range with the kit but I think I can manage that price. What is the big difference between between the single foot and the double foot guides? Does the single foot really help with casting distance? I want this rod to be able to roll cast well with big nymphs and some streamers. I do a lot of roll casting fitting it in under trees and in a lot of areas where I don't have room for a back cast but I'd like the rod to be able to cast a good distance if I can but the roll casting heave stuff is my main goal. Do the Cabela's kits come with good instructions or are there some good sites here on the net and if so what are they?

I did not use a kit to build mine. I got the blank, guides and cork off of ebay. They have a bunch of really good blanks for great prices. I bought some gudebrod wrap, flex coat, epoxy, and a cork reamer off cabelas. And my dad bought me a really nice REC reel seat for my B-day... thanks dad!. After I glued the seat and finished the wraps I realized I needed a rod dryer. I picked one up off ebay for about 25$ with shipping. I think I have about 50-60$ in actual building materials and about 50$ in tools total. My next will be about 60$ to 70$ since I do not have to buy the tools but will need a reel seat.

bigjohn58 wrote:What is the big difference between between the single foot and the double foot guides? Does the single foot really help with casting distance?

From my reading the main difference is weight. They both cast about the same however for every guide you wrap with a double foot you have twice the wrap and twice the flex coat. When dealing with a sensitive graphite rod any weight reduction helps. Also the single foot guides make your rod look that much more custom.

Yeah well I was thinking single foot would also save me half the time in putting on the guides and I can see now how it would make things more sensative. Are they as durable though?

I have access to all the tools I need for the rod building. My uncle used to do it when he was in better shape about 15-20 years ago. He said he would give me everything he has. I know a lot of it is probably out dated equipment but it worked for him so I'm sure I can make it work for me. I had one of his rods he made me until I smashed it in the tailgate of the truck.

John, I've used both and I didn't really know how much of a difference they would make until after I used the rods I made. I still like the rods i built with te snake guides, but i like the single foot ones better. Theres less friction when your line shoots thru...the line potentially touches the guide at only one point as opposed to two as it shoots thru. They are lighter although i'm not sure I personally notice that. and yes, one wrap instead of two. I wonder if that doesn't alter the natural action of the rod less. That being a good thing. As far as durable...mine are all still there. Don't know what else to tell you about that. there are better single foot guides than others. The ones with the titanium carbide coating are much slicker.

I posted a bunch of links to rod building sites that sell everything from cork rings to discounted blanks and even blems really cheap. I'd have to look them up again. I also gave all my rod building stuff t RyanH for a while. Maybe if he gets his rod built before the jam, we can pass it along and you could use it too. Yu can email me directly if you have more q's, john. Otherwise I tend to go on forever and this thing will time out eventually.

The Forecast RX6 would be a decent fast action rod.The cabelas traditional would also be adecent mod-fast action rod.A Pac-bay rainforest in a 2 piece would be as good and cheap than a gl3 in my opinion

I have built on the above 4 blanks.

the cabelas IM7 and american tackle matrix blanks would also be good choices.Sli and IMX are good choices but a bit spendy.

I think single foot guides keep the rod lighter and more responsive. However, they are harder to wrap, especially with your first build. Using a thin piece of tape or a dental rubber band can help hold the guide in place when you wrap it. The double foot guides I think are less likely to catch on things and this makes them more durable IMO. I also like double foot for heavier fish like steelhead. I might lean towards double foot for your first build in a 6 weight.

In hindsight, their are several things I don't like about cabelas kits but they keep it simple for your first build.

The epoxy in the kits dries extremely fast, be prepared. I prefer a two-hour epoxy.

The finish they include is extremely high build. Keep the coats thin and you may need just one coat.

There single foot guides in the kits are titanium coated, which is a needless expense and their "premium" kits come with a relative cheap woven graphite seat which is a downgrade from the reel seat on their standard kits.

If you decide you don't want to get a kit, we can advise you as to what exactly you need.

I don’t like a single foot snakes and strippers guides that’s me. I would not go cheap (again that’s me) go with what you like and if that’s cheap that’s okay. I’ve built blanks that I didn’t build out because after I was done with the blank I knew I would not fish it. I usually test those to see how strong the glue bond was, I have one now that I’m going to turn into a thread stick so I know was the thread color is going to look like after varnishing (I bought a few different colors of silk that I want to try). You can do all the practice you want on a dowel rod wrapping the guides and practice epoxy work it acts just like the circular rod without damage to the blank. When you think you have the wrapping and epoxy down start on the blank. My .02.

Big John,I just built a Cabela's IM7 kit. it was $65, but it was snake guides. I prefer single foot guides, but I don't know why. The kits are a great deal, plus they come with epoxy, finish, thread and brushes. They do come with instruction, but they suck--just throw them away. If you get the GL3 kit, upgrade to the primium kit. It was single foot guides, woven grafite real seat, better handle, and better thread.

Thanks for the replies. So out of all those rods that are listed what would best make a good rod for fishing big nymphs and streamers? Like I said I do a lot of roll casting because of a lack of being able to do a back cast. I currently have a Fenwick Eagle 9' 6 weight but I don't like it. The rod is just too heavy. If I build a rod I want it to be half decent because when I get a cheap rod I will not use it. I currently use a Fenwick HMX 8' 5 weight for about 90% of my fishing and I absolutely love that rod but it just sucks for high water big nymph fishing or trying to cast a streamer. I'm not really worried about how the rod ends up. I'm pretty artistic and I know how good I am at tying flies so I think I can pick up on it fairly quick and I do have access to the equipment even though its old I'm sure it'll still be able to get the job done. I just wish I would have done it over the winter instead of getting into it now.

I may be missing something but to me and my rod thinking and how I fish. I like a slow to medium rod taper for roll casting and a faster taper for dry fly and casting big streamers. I find with the faster rods I have to put more effort into a roll cast than a medium action taper. Now if your roll casting 30-40 feet with a big weighted woolly bugger then that is different. It sound like you want a cannon (fast as fast can be) but you want roll cast at the same time so I vote you go with the GL3 or Sage equivalent.